Long Lost Friends
by LaundryBasket3
Summary: Kyoya falls in love! A girl from Kyoya's past shows up and Kyoya's calm world get rocked. The rest of the host club watched in amusement as Kyoya struggles with emotions he has never experienced before.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Little Marki opened her eyes. It was the first day of summer. She hopped out of bed, got dressed, and ran next door to "Grandma" May's house. Grandma May wasn't really her grandma, but Marki loved her like one.

"Grandma May! Grandma May!" Marki yelled, as she hopped onto the porch and went barreling inside. Grandma May was ready for her.

"Hello, dear," she smiled, "I have some exciting news."

Marki's eyes widened. Exciting news? Not very common in her small town.

"What is it?" she breathed.

A little earlier

May hung up the phone and closed her eyes. She had just talked to a butler from the Ohtori family. It was time she paid the debt she owed them. For the whole summer, she has to take care of their youngest child, Kyoya. Due to bad press, they feared for Kyoya and decided to send him to a safer place. That happened to be May's house. She smiled slightly as she imagined Marki's expression when she hears the news. The neighborhood only had adults and elderly people. There were no 8-year-olds. Except for Marki. In the distance May could hear Marki calling for her. She straightened up and got ready for the whirlwind only an 8-year-old can bring.

Two weeks later

Finally. The day for the new boy Kyoya has come. Marki sat impatiently at the window.

"Can I go now, Mama?" she begged.

"You have to wait until 10:00, sweetie. It's 9:45. Only 15 more minutes."

Marki groaned and leaned her head against the window. _Who puts the word_ only_ in front of 15 minutes?_ She wondered to herself.

Finally, _finally,_ those 15 minutes were up. She shot out of the house, down her steps, and veered for the sidewalk. Then she stopped dead. She quickly dove behind a bush and peeked out. There was a boy there. But he had such an air about him, that he seemed… older. He stood up straight. He didn't look around curiously like she would have done, instead he stood there calmly as a tall man unloaded luggage from the car. Suddenly, as if he sensed her looking at him, he turned and made eye contact. His glasses gleamed as he frowned slightly.

She gulped. Then she steeled herself, smiled, and waved. He cocked his head to the side as if that very gesture confused him. Then he got called inside so he left.

A week earlier Grandma May had warned her that he might not be the most friendly. When Marki asked her why, Grandma May said because of his upbringing. He was always told that he has to excel. Marki had decided then that she would become best friends with him.

She timidly walked into Grandma May's kitchen. Kyoya was standing there.

"Have a seat, dears," Grandma said brightly.

Marki sat down, slouching. Kyoya sat down with his back straight.

Marki decided to talk.

"I'm Marki," she said.

"Kyoya," Kyoya said mildly.

"We're gonna be best friends," she declared.

Kyoya's eyes widened. "We're going to be what?"

"Best friends," she clarified.

She finally started to get her bouncy personality back as she got used to him.

She stood up. "Let's go!" she grabbed his hand and dragged him up.

"Go? Where?"

"To the woods, of course. We're exploring today. Oh, but you needta change your clothes. A suit is not good for exploring."

"I don't have play clothes."

Grandma May grinned. "Oh, yes, you do. I got you some. I knew Marki would want to go to the woods."

So a reluctant Kyoya changed then followed Marki to the woods.

She was walking along, then suddenly stopped.

"That one," she declared pointing to a tree. "We're gonna climb that tree."

She then proceeded to climb said tree.

"Come on up!" she yelled.

"No."

"Ooohh, I get it. You're scared."

"I am not."

"Are to."

"Am not."

"Are to."

"Am not! And I'll prove it by climbing this tree!"

He climbed the tree, though not as well as Marki, to his dismay.

He sat next to her on the branch and looked over to see her grinning from ear to ear.

"Ha! You climbed it after all!"

Kyoya was slightly embarrassed that he got tricked, but he also realized that climbing a tree was… fun. He decided to stick with Marki, maybe she'll show him more fun.

Summer flew by. As Marki promised, the two became best friends. The night before Kyoya was to leave, they sat talking in the back yard.

"I'm really gonna miss ya, Kyoya," she said quietly.

He took her hand. "I'll miss you too, Marki. But, we'll see each other again."

"How do you know?"

"Because we're best friends. We have to see each other again."

Marki smiled a tiny smile.

The next summer

Kyoya came again. Once again the two had a great time. Until Kyoya's father stopped by to check on him. Unfortunately, he came just as Marki and Kyoya came stepping out of the woods, covered with mud. The father took one look at them, then declared that they're leaving. Now.

"No!" Marki gasped, "You can't go!"

Kyoya, too, looked upset. "I don't think he'll ever let me come back," he whispered hoarsely.

"Kyoya," she cried and flung herself at him. The tears came flowing as she clung to him. "But you're my best friend!" she sobbed.

Kyoya slowly wrapped his arms around her. "I will never, ever forget you!" he said fiercely. He kissed her on the cheek. "And you don't forget me!"

"Never!" she promised, then kissed his cheek.

As the car drove away, he mashed his face against the window. They stared at each other until they couldn't see the other. Even then, Marki stood there, staring at the empty space.

_Kyoya_, she thought. And touched her cheek where he had kissed her. He was her only best friend. She won't forget him.

Then it started raining as if the very sky was crying.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Seven years later. Marki was now 16 and in her second year of high school. She had attended the public school near her hometown, but it wasn't very… educational. She wanted better. So, like any sensible teen, she turned toward the Internet. There she saw a school named Ouran Academy. And to make matters better, they already had an honor student. Maybe, just maybe, if she was good enough, she, too, could get in. So she took the test and she got in. She was now living with her Aunt Suze in an apartment. Aunt Suze's apartment was small. Like the-size-of-her-old-bedroom small. But Marki didn't complain, for she was grateful to her aunt for letting Marki live with her.

She has been attending her new school for a while now. One day she was looking for a quite place to study. She saw a music room that looked deserted, so she twisted the handle. As she did the door swung open and a light momentarily blinded her while flower petals danced around her.

Inside she saw seven figures. "Welcome," they all said.

The random light dimmed and the flower petals started to disperse.

"Whoa!" she exclaimed, amazed. "How did you do that flower petal thingy?"

She looked around the room, looking for a hidden fan. Only then did she realize that she was standing in the midst of… boys?

"Welcome, Princess," the tall blond one with a serene expression adorning his face said, "I don't believe you've visited us before. I would remember someone as beautiful as you."

"Hey! Who're you calling princess?" Marki asked indignantly.

"Huh? All girls love being called princess," Blondie said.

"Well, I don't!" she huffed.

A pair of twins started snickering. "Oooh, boss. Looks like she's playing a little hard-to-get."

"I'm not playing anything! I just want a quite place to study!" she protested.

They were good-looking, she could see that plainly, but her old school had tons of boys who loved making girls fall for them only to dump them. She had become immune to basic flattery.

"…Who are you?" Blond Boy finally asked.

She paused to think. "I'm an honor student."

Everyone gasped simultaneously. Then they all turned to look at a short boy with feminine features.

"Haruhi!" The Blond One exclaimed, "You are no longer the only honor student! You have another one of your kind with you!" Then he, inexplicably, began to cry.

"These commoners are multiplying," the twins said, "Soon we will be overrun by them."

The one called Haruhi rolled his eyes. "Two doesn't really count as being _overrun_." Then he smiled a friendly smile at Marki. "Trust me, these rich people are really annoying at first, but then they become… no, actually they're always annoying. But you'll learn to love 'em."

Marki smiled back at him. _The more I look at him, the more he seems like a girl… but I don't want to insult him. After all, if he's the only other honor student, he'll be the only one I could truly relate to. And besides, my old school had tons of cross-dressers. I'm used to it._

The really small one who was sitting on the really tall one's shoulder finally spoke. "How come you didn't tell us about a new honor student?" his innocent voice questioned the one with glasses.

Marki tilted her head at seeing the boy with glasses. He look really familiar… a pile of memories started to come to the surface.

"I saw that a new student had enrolled, of course, but I didn't see it as beneficial information, so I disregarded it."

Marki slowly stepped forward. Her face was one of confusion. Everyone looked surprised when she stopped right in front of glasses boy.

She appeared to be thinking hard. "…Kyoya?" she finally asked.

Kyoya blinked before his eyes widened. "Marki?"

She finally smiled. All the hosts stared as her smile grew and her eyes started twinkling. "You remembered!" she said happily.

Then, as if to overwhelm the other hosts even more, she threw her arms around him.

The twins sighed. "First Renge, now her. Why do random girls show up and insist on knowing you?"

"Actually," Kyoya said, adjusting his glasses, "We do know each other. We met when we were young."

He explained the story. "Ohhhh," everyone said.

"Hey, Blondie, why are you crying!?" Marki asked.

"Because, that story… was… soooo… cute!"

"You're an emotional one, aren'tcha?"

"And why did you call me Blondie?"

"Because you're blonde."

Kyoya chuckled lightly. "Allow me to introduce you to everyone." He told her everyone's names.

"It's nice to meet all y'all."

"_All ya'll_?" Tamaki asked incredulously.

"Sure," she shrugged. "It's fun to say."

Haruhi smiled. "I think I might like you."

Tamaki gasped. "Daddy likes Marki too, Haruhi! All of us likes Marki, right men?"

"Yes, sir!" everyone said.

Hunny hopped forward. "I really do like you, Marki-chan! We can be great friends! Would you like some cake? It has strawberries!"

"O-okay…" Marki said, a bit uncertainly. She took a bite of the cake and nearly dropped the fork. "Wow… this tastes… amazing!"

"Yay!" Hunny yelled. Then he hugged Marki really tight. "I'm glad! Usa-chan likes cake too!" He held up a stuffed bunny.

"Hey… that's pretty cute," Marki said. She was charmed off her feet by Hunny.

"What?" Tamaki said, "How come you like Hunny so much but you don't like me?"

"Oh, I like you alright, I'm just not charmed by you."

Tamaki went and sat in the corner.

"Hey, don't overreact. Jeez, I'm sure any other girl would be charmed."

"No." Tamaki said, "I have no luck with commoners. They just don't like me. What am I doing wrong?" He started mumbling to himself.

"Ummm…" Marki really didn't know how to react to that. "Listen, I just don't like false compliments, that's all."

Tamaki came up to her. "You know," he said, his voice suddenly low, "No girl has ever disregarded me like that." He grabbed her chin and stared deep into her eyes, "Maybe I should punish you…"

Marki sighed irritably. "You know, I liked you better as a dweeb. And I'll give you exactly 3 seconds to get your filthy hand off me before I rip it off, understand me, wise guy?"

"Wha…?!"

"3… 2…"

Tamaki hastily dropped his hand and took a step back involuntarily.

The twins looked extremely impressed. "You are amazing when it comes to dealing with His Highness, but can you tell us apart? There's only one other person who is able to."

"You're Hikaru and you're Karou."

"Wrong!" the twins said gleefully.

"Actually, she's right." Haruhi said helpfully.

"I know I am," Marki agreed.

The twins looked depressed. "There _is_ something wrong with commoners," they mumbled to each other, "They are immune to Tamaki and can tell us apart."

Haruhi shook his (her?) head. "Not _all_ commoners. Just the ones that pay attention."

Kyoya picked up some teacups and moved to the other side of the room. Marki went with him, leaving the other hosts. "Hey, Kyoya?"

He glanced back at her, expecting her to say some sort of sentiment. But, as always, she surprised him.

"Is Haruhi a girl?"

He hid his surprise well, "My, you do have a good eye, don't you? And yes, Haruhi is, indeed, female." He then proceeded to tell Marki the story of how Haruhi became part of their club.

"I see…" Marki mused.

"…You're wearing your thinking face." He informed her.

"Am I?" she asked distractedly.

He knew this face well. She was currently planning something. Making connections, forming a plot. In some ways, she was almost as calculating as him.

"Ah!" she exclaimed at last, "I know just how to do it!"

He looked at her a bit wearily. "Do what?"

He half expected her to say something like 'how to steal 8 cookies from Grandma May without getting caught' or 'how to get our ball down from the roof using only gum and grass'. However, that was seven years ago, so of course she wouldn't say something like that.

"How to stay in this club." And with that she grinned, turned around and marched right over to Tamaki.

As he watched her retreating back, Kyoya whispered so no one can hear, "I'm glad to have you back… Marki."


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

"You want to do what?!" Tamaki did not take the news of Marki wanting to stay in the club very well. "You know, you were pretty rude to me. And charming girls is the basis of this club."

"I know," Marki said. _Part A_, she thought to herself. "But…" here she lowered her head pitifully, "But I have no one I know at this school. Except for Kyoya, of course. And the only other person I have a chance of truly connecting with is Haruhi. Because we're both commoners." She let her lip wobble ever so slightly. "But they're both in this club already…" her voice broke at just the right time. She could feel Tamaki's resolve wavering.

"…But this club is only for boys." He explained.

_Part B_. She gave him a slightly wounded look. "But Haruhi is a girl," she whispered.

"Gasp! How did you know that?"

"I figured it out on my own…"

"Well, even though she is a girl, everyone else thinks she's a boy."

_Part C_. "You know," her voice was slightly sly. "I bet Haruhi would really like having another commoner slash girl around."

"…You think Haruhi would like it if you joined?"

"I think so," Marki pressed,

"Alright, fine! You can be part of this club! But I have one condition. You have to act like a customer when we're open for business. We can't let word get out that there is a girl here."

"Yes, sir!" Marki did a mock salute before doing an about face and marching back over to Kyoya. "Hey, Kyoya! Guess what? I'm part of this club now!"

"If it's okay with Tamaki, then it's okay with me," he said mildly. But on the inside he was secretly pleased. He really did miss Marki all those years, and now they can spend practically everyday together. He wanted to invite her out to dinner or something, so they can catch up, but he wasn't sure how to broach the subject. He can't say it too formally, or else it would sound like a business dinner, but he didn't want it to sound date-ish either.

Marki handled the problem herself. "Hey, Kyoya, after we're done here, wanna come eat with me? I have sooo much I want to talk to you about!"

She smiled easily and showed no sign of having deliberated over her word choice. "Sure," he said. Secretly, he was a little embarrassed that he had so much trouble when she just came right out with it, but he was also happy to get to hang out with her. "I want to know how you got to Ouran."

"Ok!" she exclaimed.

She instinctively took his hand, and he froze. Back when he was nine, they always held hands, but he hasn't held hands with anyone since then.

She squeezed his hand, then let go.

Dinnertime. They went to a nearby café. Kyoya wasn't used to these kind of places, he was used to high-class places. However, the places Marki suggested they go were all places like this one. He ordered his meal and sat back to wait.

"So, how exactly did you get into our school?"

She explained the whole story to him. He had forgotten how much she moves her head and uses her hands while talking. She got completely into telling her story, as if she were pouring her soul into talking to him. She was so… animated. He smiled at her, remembering all the fun they had.

Soon the food came. "Wow, this looks delicious," she said, rubbing her hands together.

She began eating voraciously. "Mmmm… sooo good!"

After a couple of seconds of stuffing her face, she became vibrantly aware of Kyoya staring at her, a slightly shocked look on his face.

She lowered her head in shame, her face flushing. "I, um… didn't have breakfast or lunch."

"What? Why not?"

"Well, I never have breakfast, and I didn't have time for lunch today. I had to make up a test."

"Oh, I see," Kyoya said simply, but inside he was wondering how she had so much energy when she should have been weak with hunger.

She resumed eating, but at a more normal pace.

After a few moments of silent eating, she smiled at him. "Wow, Kyoya, you've grown up so much! You look so much older now."

He nodded. "So do you. I can't believe it's been seven years."

She shook her head. "I know. It feels like I just saw you. I never forgot you, you know."

"Me either."

"I tried to become best friends with other people, imagining I would never see you again, but it never worked out. No one understood me like you did."

He chuckled lightly. "I wouldn't say I understood you."

"But you did! You never questioned mixing cake and oatmeal then burying it. You always went along with it."

"Yeah, I still don't know why we did that."

"That's not the point. The point is that I was a… slightly strange child. I liked adventure and had a vivid imagination. Yet you always were with me."

"Well, it was fun." He looked down at his food. He wasn't used to expressing so many feelings. But Marki just did it so naturally that he found himself spewing his emotions left and right.

"It was fun, wasn't it?" she agreed. "Those were the best summers of my life."

She sighed happily. Then she glanced at her watch. "Oh no!" she jumped up quickly.

"What is it?" Kyoya asked, slightly startled by the outburst.

"I didn't realize how late it's gotten. I hope Aunt Suze won't be worried."

She quickly grabbed her coat and purse and threw down some money. "Bye, Kyoya! It was great seeing you again and I'll see you tomorrow!"

She was out the door before he was even out of his seat. He paid his half of the bill and went after her.

She was walking along, feeling pretty rude by how she left Kyoya, but she's never been out this late before, and the last thing she wanted was to make Aunt Suze mad. She hadn't even put her coat on yet. Just as she was about to put it on, she felt a hand helping her. She turned and there stood an expressionless Kyoya.

"Kyoya?" she asked.

"I can't let a girl walk around by herself at this time of night." He said in way of explanation.

She rolled her eyes at him, but smiled. She was happy that Kyoya cared enough to walk her back to Aunt Suze's place.

_Wait a minute._ She thought, _Aunt Suze's place. The teeny-tiny apartment that seems to have more dirt than space. The apartment where Aunt Suze is liable to be wearing something weird, doing something weird, or possibly, no probably, both._

"You know, Kyoya," she started, "Aunt Suze doesn't live that far away. I can walk there by myself. You don't have to go through the trouble."

"No, it's alright," he reassured her.

She didn't feel very reassured. "No, really. I'll be fine."

He narrowed his eyes at her. While she may have grown up, she was still the same Marki. He could tell right then that she wasn't telling him everything. Normally he wouldn't care very much if someone were keeping something from him. But for some reason he didn't want Marki to.

What made Marki so special, anyway? He pondered this question as he walked Marki back to Aunt Suze's apartment.


End file.
